A gentleman's guide to rebuilding human civilization from scratch. Required reading for every time traveller, last surviving human or anyone interested in the amazing world of human invention. Feel free to contribute.

13/09/2013

Use your e-reader to jumpstart civilization

By
Randy Augsburger

Ever since the movie The Time Machine
asked us which three books we would pick to restart civilization, the debate
has raged amongst time travelers. What three books would you take?

With the technology we have in this time
period we don’t have to limit ourselves to lugging around three books anymore.
We have e-readers some of which can store 2000+ down loaded books.

This expands our options many fold. Below
are few things I think you should consider while you are picking your reading
material for whatever time period you may find yourself in.

The first order of business for any time
traveler is to keep your butt alive. There are a plethora of survival manuals
available for download onto your e-reader. Pick several and you will have just
about everything you could think of covered.

The
Bible

Being a Chrisitan of course I am going to
include the Bible, but even if you are not you should still consider it. There
is all sorts of advice in this book for living a successful life. From handling
your money and interpersonal relationships all the way to setting up a
government. Even if you don’t take the advice offered you can avoid the
mistakes of those who have their history recorded in it.

Harvard
five foot shelf of books

What can I say about this, other than these
are the classics all in one place. Plus they are available electronically now
so use up some of your storage space to include the whole set.

Homesteading

Books on homesteading will help you set of
a self-sustaining agricultural enterprise. These techniques can be used on a
small personal holding or expanded into a whole agricultural based economy.

You can also include some department of
agriculture annual reports from the early 20th century. These read
like how-to manuals for agriculture.

Medical

Find some medical texts designed with
laymen in mind. Be sure to include these with any more advanced medical sources
you want to take with you.

Some chemistry text and basic lab work
would be good. It would be great to be able to manufacture antibiotics whenever
you find yourself.

Basic
electronics

Basic electronic books will go a long way
toward getting basic electrical machinery built. Who knows you may need to
educate someone to help you with repairs on your own time machine.

Science
fair projects

This may sound like a stupid selection but
just think of what science fairs are. These are kids building advanced
prototypes or demonstrating advanced technology using what they can scrape
together at home. Lots of good ideas can come from science fair books.

Blacksmithing/Machine
shop

Basic blacksmithing and machining might be
far advanced or old hat depending when you find yourself. It is a good idea to
include varied texts on the topic.

Us
Military manuals

These manuals have all kinds of interesting
uses. I would avoid the specific use ones like Field Maintenance of the A10
Warthog unless of course you are traveling specifically to look for one.

Scan
your own

If all else fails several e-reader formats
can read PDF files. If you can’t find an electronic copy of the text you want
to take with you, simply scan it and download it yourself.

When traveling with your e-reader don’t
forget a padded case and a charger that you don’t have to plug into an outlet.
E-readers without lighted screens have several times the battery life of the
lighted ones.

With modern e-readers rebuilding
civilization is easier than ever. If you plan ahead there should be no excuse
for failure.